Edith Emerson

Edith Emerson
Emerson dressed as Giovanni the Page in front of the garden door of the Pergola (1919)
Born	July 27, 1888 Oxford, Ohio, U.S.
Died	November 21, 1981 (aged 93) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Art Institute of Chicago; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Known for	Painting, murals, illustrations, bookplates

Edith Emerson (July 27, 1888 – November 21, 1981) was an American painter, muralist, illustrator, writer, and curator. She was the life partner of acclaimed muralist Violet Oakley and served as the vice-president, president, and curator of the Woodmere Art Museum in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1978.

Emerson was born in Oxford, Ohio into a family of accomplished scholars and artists. Her father, Alfred Emerson, was an archaeologist and professor of classical archaeology whose career included positions at Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Cornell University. Her mother, Alice Edwards Emerson, was a pianist and music professor who taught at Wellesley College, the Ithaca Conservatory of Music (and its successor, Ithaca College), the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and Hobart College. She had three siblings: Gertrude, a writer and editor of Asia Magazine; Willard, a banker; and Alfred Jr., an entomologist. She traveled widely with her family to Japan, China, India, and Mexico.

Emerson began her art education at a young age, studying with Olaf Branner from the Department of Architecture at Cornell University when she was only twelve years old. By age fifteen, she had enrolled in classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, later studying with John Vanderpoel and Thomas Wood Stevens. While there, she was in charge of the circulating collection of lantern slides of art subjects.

Emerson also attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Other students studying at the academy included Cecilia Beaux, Violet Oakley, Hugh Breckenridge, and Daniel Garber. One of the classes Emerson attended was Oakley's mural-painting class, and found Oakley the "most stimulating...electrifying teacher, opening up undreamed of possibilities and encouraging every effort. It was exciting, especially to women students as it abolished any sense of inferiority." During her studies at the Academy, Emerson earned two Cresson Scholarships, one in 1914 and again in 1915, allowing her to travel throughout Europe. She was also awarded the Second Toppan Prize in 1916.